ATM machines are known in the art and can dispense cash as well as collect checks for a bank. ATM machines are rarely placed in an open location unless they are located in an office or on a campus that has full time security. Instead, in many situations, an ATM machine is placed inside of an enclosure, such as a room of a building. Some of these ATM machines are manually guarded around the clock by security guards on multiple shifts. However, the ATM security market is increasing the use of automated security systems to reduce the costs of such manual security monitoring.
Known automated security systems for ATM machines include a plurality of intrusion alarm sensors installed in, on, at, or around an ATM machine, one or more surveillance cameras monitoring the ATM machine, and a central monitoring station where operators can monitor a plurality of closed circuit television screens displaying video data streams from the surveillance cameras. Alarms can be generated from the intrusion alarm sensors associated with the ATM machine and can be prioritized based on the severity level thereof. For example, panic alarms can be assigned a highest severity level. Operators at the central monitoring station can monitor alarms from ATM machines and, responsive thereto, connect to a particular ATM machine or video surveillance camera monitoring the particular ATM machine to monitor the situation at the ATM machine. When the operator determines that the situation at the ATM machine is an emergency, the operator can summon the police and/or talk with persons at the site of the ATM machine, in real time, via microphones at the ATM site and the central monitoring station, for further assistance or warning.
Although the above-described automated security systems work well, they have several limitations. First, operators at the central monitoring station determine with which ATM machines or video surveillance cameras to connect based on the severity level and priority of the alarms received from the ATM machines. Although the video surveillance cameras can monitor and record events at ATM machines around the clock, in many known systems, only alarms from an ATM machine that have a highest severity level receive operator attention. For example, a sensor detecting the back door or the currency chest of an ATM machine being open or a panic button being pressed can be assigned a highest severity level, and such a severity level can trigger immediate operator attention at a central monitoring station as well as further monitoring activities, such as immediately downloading a video data stream from a video surveillance camera monitoring the ATM machine and communication with the ATM machine directly.
Second, ATM machines that are monitored by automated security systems, as opposed to manually guarding the ATM machine around the clock, are vulnerable to situations in which a user of an ATM machine does not or is not able to press a panic button, particularly in situations while or after the user withdraws money from the ATM machine. For example, after a user withdraws money from an ATM machine, a person with a weapon may threaten the user and take his money. Such an incident can go unnoticed by an automated security system if the user cannot or does not press a panic button associated with the ATM machine in a timely manner. Indeed, if the user is killed, is in a panic state, or is so physically injured that he is not in a position to press a panic button, then an automated security system will not recognize the event as an alarm with a high severity level.
Finally, some ATM machines can be vandalized by cutting the ATM machine, carrying the ATM machine away from its location, or breaking the currency chest of the ATM machine to steal the cash inside. In these situations, a vandal will have likely spent a considerable amount of time in or around the ATM machine before a sensor associated with the ATM machine is triggered. At such time, there could already be a considerable amount of damage to the ATM machine and the setup thereof. Unfortunately, there are no known systems and methods for detecting such events prior to and unless an intrusion alarm sensor is triggered.
In view of the above, there is a continuing, ongoing need for improved systems and methods.